Charlotte Scratch

Our North Carolina trip included*sluicing dirt with a screen while searching for gems in the town of Hiddenite;*eating excellent barbecue in Wilks County;* riding the rapids and zipping the zipline at the United States Whitewater Center near Charlotte; *touring the NoDa bohemian mini-area in Charlotte,*touring a lovely botanical garden called Daniel Stowe, *seeing the Pisgah covered bridge, *eating at a nearly perfect Charlotte dive called Penguin's, *driving the Pottery Road near Seagrove to see the potteries, *watching a fellow throw a pot expertly;* eating wonderful food everywhere we went; *seeing a beautiful pileated woodpecker and hearing songbirds of many stripes,and*realizing, when we left, we had but scratched the surface of the places we visited.